Neither game is nearly fun enough to ignore all the feedback regarding unskippable campaigns.

"

Imaginaerum#5568 wrote:

I like the campaign but I don't like replaying it 3-5 times a league so I rarely do. Not too big of a deal, just means I don't branch out very often. Might change my mind later.

What's bugged me about all kinds of games (MMO's especially) is they do a terrible job making you feel like you have the freedom to make a second character. GGG paints themselves into a corner by making a game that's fun to experiment with but you have to slog through a repetitive story mode to get there. I don't have college nights to waste away anymore so it feels less fun doing that than it used to. But 2024 was such a sorry year for gaming I might actually want to spend more time in PoE since I'll have few others to try out lmao

I mean, that is really gonna depend on what sort of games you like.

Square Enix has released an entry in every one of its flagship franchises in the past 12 months, Atlus/Sega have launched no less than 4 of its flagships, but sure, JRPGs aren't everybody's scene.

Maybe RTS games? We've got Industrial Annihilation out in under 30 days. Empire of the Ants launched 2 weeks ago. Sanctuary is gonna be out in 2025 if you like a modern send up of Supreme Commander. Barkhan if you want a modern implementation of Dune 2000. Tempest Rising if you want a modern implementation of Red Alert. That is all before you get into whatever Broken Arrow, Global Conflagration, and Empire Eternal are going to be.

Fighting games are pretty big right now with sparking zero, tekken 8, and like a dozen other fighting games either recently released or going to be released. For shooters we're like 2 weeks out from the latest call of duty offering and Stalker 2 just launched yesterday.

So when you say its going to be a slow year for gaming I literally have no idea what you're talking about. The uncertain releasedate for Light No Fire or TitanQuest 2? Gatewalkers and Wayfinder being a bit iffy? The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game flying completely under everybody's radar?

Great points otherwise. But there is SO MUCH TO PLAY right now.

I want a Skip-Story sooooooo badly.

I do NOT! want an instant level 100 char, I don't want instant gear or anything.

All I want: Give me random maps, delve or anything randomly generated without any quests or stuff. Just let me Level and when I hit level 68 I get a portal to my hideout and I can start mapping.

All those current changes to the PoE1 story make it so hard for me to have fun in the game anymore. Yes I know you speedrunners can easily run through etc. I am not a speedrunner. But I have played through the story hundrets of times and the more often I have to do the story the more I hate it.

There is no reason to enforce the story over and over.
Just let me level in peace without those overtuned mobs and features that only speedrunners like that normal players take ages to get to maps so they can pre-collect items and set a grounding to rule the market.

"

AkumaNoTsubasa#3919 wrote:

I want a Skip-Story sooooooo badly.

I do NOT! want an instant level 100 char, I don't want instant gear or anything.

All I want: Give me random maps, delve or anything randomly generated without any quests or stuff. Just let me Level and when I hit level 68 I get a portal to my hideout and I can start mapping.

All those current changes to the PoE1 story make it so hard for me to have fun in the game anymore. Yes I know you speedrunners can easily run through etc. I am not a speedrunner. But I have played through the story hundrets of times and the more often I have to do the story the more I hate it.

There is no reason to enforce the story over and over.
Just let me level in peace without those overtuned mobs and features that only speedrunners like that normal players take ages to get to maps so they can pre-collect items and set a grounding to rule the market.

My point, but bullet proof.

"

Andromansis#4714 wrote:

"

Moridin79#6328 wrote:

Idk how this continues to confuse people. They are never going to allow this to happen.

Just like how they'd never allow trading automation or in game bulk markets and how path of exile 2 was just going to be a really big expansion for path of exile 1

beat me to it lol

"

1453R#7804 wrote:

"

Andromansis#4714 wrote:

...
They've tried to move more encounters into the campaign to make it more interesting and these have not met the design goal of making the campaign more interesting.
...

What counts as 'more interesting'?

Generally, people who push for campaign skips are there for endgame. They ONLY want endgame. Nothing CAN be interesting for them but endgame. The only thing they want to do is experiment with endgame builds; no matter what happens in the campaign, those players will not care because they one hundred percent believe "the actual game starts at endgame". Everything before level 90 is just pregame to them, a slog they have to pay in order to get to the 'real' fun.

The only thing Grinding Gear could possibly do for these people is just skip all the normal content entirely, hand them a level 90 character and a PoB-style item editor in the game a'la Diablo CheatEngine stuff, and let them go nuts because they care about no other portion of the experience at all aside from fiddling with endgame builds.

GGG cannot, will not, do that.

Ergo there is nothing to really argue for. If the only solution is "put me in red maps/Ubers with whatever gear I want", there is no solution. Not feasible. Can't do it.

So getting good at clearing the campaign fast it's gonna have to be.

I mean, there's skipping the campaign, and then there's whatever you are going on about. No one is asking for whatever that is in your bit of hyperbole.

If you want a bad game that you can skip the campaign on you should play D4. That sounds like a game of your caliber.

If you want a bad game that you can skip the campaign on you should play D4. That sounds like a game of your caliber.

Right, making some sort of strawman to argue against doesn't help anybody. I've gone 36/40 and 40/40 before. I'm not a new player. The game is fun. Its not fun enough to ignore glaring design issues related to repetitive play. I know how fun the game is when you're tricked out on that dopamine drip of a 6 hour crafting session and then you go back into maps and that chase unique you've been hunting for drops. I'm telling you that even at its funnest, its not fun enough to ignore this problem.

So the answer to "the campaign is samey and boring" is "give me Endless Ledge or equivalent i.e. one singular randomized zone that never changes, never stops, and repeats endlessly forever until I hit level 68 so I can get to the Atlas."

.
..
...

...how does that make the remotest amount of sense?

path of exile 1 is at least 10 years overdue a campaign skip, dont make the same mistake with poe 2. Maybe not on release sure, but never is just messed up. Can't describe how utterly sick of poe 1's campaign I am.

Edit: I ruined my 696 post count for this reply.